Home safe and sound at last!!!

We made it in 24hrs and 30 minutes with stops included. Not too bad for a team of six with only two legal drivers! We'll post a synopsis later, as of right now we have to get everything cleaned up and get some rest. It sure feels weird to be home. The humidity is incredible!

Where are we?

in Birmingham...stay tuned.

Headed home

We hit the road about 10am Mountain time today. We've just crossed the border into Oklahoma, and boy oh boy is the Southern route is so much flatter and more boring than the Northern route through Kansas. The stretch through Texas was extremely flat.

For the first time the whole trip I'm letting Jenny take the wheel. Ironman has to sleep every now and then:-). I'm sure I'll be up doing a lot of night driving.

Don't be surprised if our posts through the night get a bit delirious. Jenny has already consumed the first RedBull. I'm trying to wait it out until the wee hours of the AM.

Over and out...

A man down...

Well folks, we are drawing near to the end of our trip, and unfortunately Ella has gotten a stomach bug, or Salmonella from the latest Tomato outbreak. We aren't sure as of yet, but she is definitely not herself, feverish, and definitely a loss to the full power of the Starks' clan.

Even so, we've had some good times here in Santa Fe. It is a cultural experience being among the adobe architecture, incredible churches, and unbelievable art.

The older kids and I hit the streets yesterday and today in search of cool stuff to take home with us. The Plaza provided incredible jewelery to choose from for Jenny. We visited the Loretto Chapel which houses the "Miraculous Staircase". Google it to learn more, as this thing is extremely impressive and somewhat impossible from a spiritual and engineering perspective.

Everyone in Santa Fe seemed excited to learn we had traveled all the way from SC to visit their town. They are an extremely nice bunch of folks, and have plenty of stories to tell.

We have really learned to like the culture, especially the fact that they have kivas (fireplaces) everywhere you turn including our hotel room. They are really nice at night as it gets cooler.

Santa Fe is yet another town we expect to spend more time in next time around. These folks understand the real American culture. If you want to relax with a smile on your face, this is the place.

So folks, this is where our story begins to come to a close. We're headed east tomorrow, and seriously are going to miss this trip and our adventures. We'll continue the story on our way home, and we'll try our hardest to maintain our enthusiasm that we've exhibited throughout our trip.

We are leaving Santa Fe manana, and are targeting to hit Greenville by noon on Saturday. It will be a marathon drive for sure, with much good music, discussion, contemplation, and serious nostalgia. We are very thankful for being able to have the ability to take a trip of this magnitude, and will never regret it.

Give us your positive thoughts and prayers as we head back towards home, and keep in mind that a trip like this is possible for you all. Forget the gas prices, forget your work schedule, forget watering the grass, and just get out there and do it. Life isn't worth living without it...

Thanks for staying in tune with us, and until next time we go in peace...

Ironman

Eureka!!! There is gold in them there hills...

The Starks' clan hit the road early this morning and joined Outlaw Tours group out of Durango to take us up to Silverton in a van, transfer over to some sort of SUV and hit the back country, then return to Silverton eat lunch and take the Narrow Guage Rail back down to Durango.

Our guide, we'll refer to as John as that is is his real name, turned out to be from NC. He was super groovy, knew all the good facts about the area, and still had that good ole' Southern sense of humor. He drove us up to Silverton while explaining the area (very rich in mining history), and then we tranferred the clan over to probably the coolest, most reliable, utilitarian vehicle available. You all know I love anything with wheels, so bear with me a second. It is a Swedish Army vehicle called a Pinzgaur (pictured). This was the 6X6 version, meaning it could tackle pretty much any terrain. It only has a four cylinder 87 hp 133 ft/lb of torque engine, and believe me that is all that it needed. We had it loaded down with twelve people, and it didn't falter once (except when John forgot to turn the magnetos back on to start it one time). I've already been on the internet looking for one:-). If only there was a use for one back home. I could certain haul the Starks' clan.

We headed up into the old abandoned ore mining country out of Silverton. There is a ton of history concerning mining in the area up until the 70's, and there are actually a couple of companies that are revitalizing a couple of mines for further excavation. It was a nasty, arduous occupation, and the conditions in these mountains were extreme. Some of the old ghost towns (one of the most famous being "Eureka") that we visited almost looked like they were abandoned yesterday as cars were left there, and things looked somewhat normal. It was really an odd feeling standing in these deserted towns that once provided work and home for thousands of people. The environment was certainly harsh as you can see. Again, we have it pretty easy in our nice cush "day jobs".

We then headed back into Silverton, got some grub at Grumpy's (best service and food in Silverton) and headed to the train station.

Luckily we arrived early, only to learn that our train had broken down coming up the mountain. The train that was currently set to leave in a matter of seconds had available seats so we hopped aboard. It was a good thing, as we wouldn't have been able to board our train for three to four more hours. Whew, so off we went up and over some of the most beautiful land that I believe exists. The locomotive is one of the original trains that carried the ore from Silverton to Durango for smelting. The feat of actually building this railroad through the rugid terrain baffles me. There were times where you could look down and not see anything but the bottom of a huge canyon, and the train was literaly hanging from the side of the mountain. So here we were riding on a railway built in the early 1900's behind a locomotive of the same era. It just doesn't get any better.

If you ever choose to take the train, only take it one way as it is at least a three hour trip. It turns out to be pretty long. We passed the train we were supposed to be on, and we felt pretty sorry for the folks as they had been on the rails for five hours. Apparently, they were able to bring another locomotive up to pull them on up the mountain. They are probably still headed back down the mountain as I write this.

All in all this was another awesome day that I would recommend to anyone. If anything, we now know which SUV will fit the Starks' clan for some "real" back country exploring.

Again, this internet connection is not allowing me to post the blog pics, so go here for the full day's pictures.

So we pack up the tent (Starks' Mahal) tomorrow, and head to Santa Fe tomorrow for some fun and relaxation before we make the trek back to the East Coast. We are staying on the Plaza in a really swanky place so that we can recharge the batteries for our 24 hour straight trip back home. That's right folks, Jenny and I are going to marathon that sucker. Don't worry, we can do it. Remember, we are the parents of four children, and have learned not to sleep:-).

I hate mosquitos...

The Anasazi could have ruled us...

The Starks' spent the whole day today at Mesa Verde exploring the old Indian ruins as much as we possibly could. This is yet another place that really needs two days to explore completely, as we were only able to see a fraction of the park.

We awoke to a chilly start (35 degrees for those of you suffering the heat back on the East Coast). For the first time ever, I was the only one that wasn't freezing my tail off. I'm usually the one waking up claiming that I'm selling the tent, sleeping bag, thermarest, and everything else nearby on Ebay due to being cold all night. I found the secret formula this time:-).

The Anasazi Indians (preferred name "Ancestral Pebloans") were cliff dwellers that apparently entered time around 1200 B.C. Without going into a total history lesson, lets just understand that these people were well ahead of their time. Essentially, they inhabited some very high cliffs, built massive communities out of sandstone and mud, and farmed corn and cotton on the top of the mesas. Keep in mind that the annual rainful around here is null. These folks were hardcore, as they had to be able to climb slick sandstone rock from ashes to dust. I think they may be my distant ancestors, as I like climbing on rocks:-). They lived slept six folks to a six feet by six feet room. That's it, we are downsizing! That makes our tent look huge! We are really surprised at how far advanced, and how much they accomplished in their time. Heck, we can't even get a ten mile stretch of highway resurfaced without costing millions and taking ten years. Take a look at the pictures here, and just remember that these folks did this all making their own tools, no wheel, and very little water. We were blown away, and I honestly believe that they could have ruled the world. Little is known about why they left their habitat, but it obviously had to be a sound reason. I personally think that it is an Alien conspriacy, and I guarantee you that some of you that have already visited secretly believe so as well:-). If you get the chance to visit Mesa Verde, don't pass it up. It is definitely a history lesson.

The kids received their "Junior Ranger" badges today as they researched and answered all of the questions required by the real Park Rangers. We had an argument in the car on the way back concerning their "legitimacy". I think Bennett won, and he is now officially a Ranger. I'm not standing in his way:-).

Folks, this is absolutely the best vacation that we could have ever planned for, and the time with the family has been invaluable. We are having a blast, and already planning for our next year's trip out west. There are places within the places we have visited that we plan on exploring further next time.

Tomorrow, we've decided to relax and let someone else "tour" us around. We are taking a trip with a group up to Silverton for a Jeep tour, and then back down the "narrow guage railway" to Durango (The first time all vacation that I really don't have to drive:-). It should be an insane trip as all have been before.

All Aboard!!!....

Million dollar highway? Ahhhh, now I see...

Sorry no pics posted, but this Internet connection won't publish them. Go HERE to see our full pics from today. They are the Ouray/Silverton/Durango ones.

Today began with a hike to town for breakfast in Ouray. Once we were full, we walked out of town up the hill to Cascade falls. It was a beautiful morning (little bit cloudy), and the falls were incredibly powerful. We approached them as close as possible, but inevitably were soaked by the time we got close. Totally worth the climb up the hill.

We then ran on back down the hill, packed up the Odyssey (best car we've ever owned) and headed up the "Million Dollar Hwy". This is when it really got interesting. This stretch from Ouray through Silverton to Durango is extremely impressive. The road is typically is a small sliver hanging off the side of the mountain without any sort of protection or guard rails. The reason being, the plows have to be able to shovel the snow off the side in the winter, as there isn't anywhere else it can go. This region gets a ton of snow, and they've had a record snowfall this year. We saw snow falling today at the higher elevations.

So where did it get it's name? Well, there are a ton of silver, gold, you name, it mineral ore mines along the route. There were well over a million dollars of ton-age hauled across this pass when the mines were hitting their strides back in the late 1800's to mid 1900's. Therefore, someone coined it the "million dollar highway". It is really neat to see the old mining operations, as well as the push to reclaim the land from the damage the mining has done. Many deposits are left outside of the mines as they strip the ore leaving "sores" on the mountain sides. There are groups dedicated to cleaning these up and planting new vegetation to bring the mountain back to its 'near' original state. It sort of stinks to see history covered up, but then again this area is most beautiful in it's natural state. The drive is very interesting to say the least. It was one of the best of this trip.

We paid a visit to Silverton, which I rate a close second to visit in comparison to Ouray. I would say stay in Ouray, visit Silverton. The town is another old western mining town that has survived through the years on tourism. It has a ton of character, and will be the terminus of our train trip from Durango a couple of days from now. We walked around for a couple of hours, and gained some 'culture' from not only the visitors but also the locals. We ate at a Cantina (Ramaro's I think) that was 'ok', but not exactly what we were expecting. Live and learn. All in all, I really hope this town survives. It appears it is a struggle as many of the old properties are for sale. Tough times due to low tourism is my belief. It would be a shame for it to become a ghost town.

On to Durango, and to the campsite that we are currently posting from. We are at a nice little spot on the river in Lightner Creek Campground (free WiFi all over the campground). No clouds in the sky, no rain in the forecast. I wonder if I'm really camping. All of the kids are in the tent, and Jenny is looking kind of scared as to how much they may have torn up in the tent. She refuses to go inside:-). The tent is dry, and the kids are glad to be outdoors. We will be here the next few nights, and have some full days ahead.

We will be hitting Mesa Verde tomorrow, and then on to the Narrow Guage railway to Silverton with a Jeep tour thrown in around Silverton.

For any of you that may be planning to head out this direction, I strongly suggest you spend some time in the lower half including Ouray, Silverton, and Durango.

Don't forget, all pictures can be viewed here.

Until tomorrow...